The Town of Shirley is in the westernmost part of Middlesex
County
and was originally part of the town of Groton. The first
settlements
were in the 1720’s, along the Mulpus Brook and Catacunemaug Brook where
early grist mills and saw mills were soon erected to provide for the
settlers.

Incorporated in 1753, the hill in the geographic center of the
district
was chosen as the spot to erect the first meetinghouse, training field,
and burial ground for the new town. The 18th century animal pound and
burial
ground still remain at the edge of the Common, but the church has been
moved. For its first seventy years, the meetinghouse was
literally
in the middle of the common where the Civil War statue now
stands.
In 1851 it was moved, by oxen, to the edge of the Common, in order to
enlarge
the training field area. Side porches were later removed and a vestry
was
added to the bell tower entrance.

In the early nineteenth century, around this Center Common were
built
the homes of Shirley’s leaders, businessmen, and preachers. By
1850,
the Town Hall was built and soon the Common achieved the appearance it
has today. The Shirley Center Historic District is on the
National
Register of Historic Places so that buildings and landscape are
protected
from inappropriate additions or modifications. The Center has
been
so successful in maintaining its appearance, that it was chosen as an
example
of a perfect old New England Village for the 1938 World’s Fair film, The
City. It was also used as the example of early New England
Village architecture in the text book The Architecture of America
by Buchard and Bush-Brown.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, wealthy
businessmen
and intellectuals, who wanted to escape the city for the summer, bought
some of the old Yankee houses on the lovely country hillside at Shirley
Center. There were shoe manufacturers, painters, book
collectors,
museum archivists, lawyers, antiques collectors, writers, pianists,
conservationists,
and others who would plan summer entertainments and lyceum discussions
at the old Town Hall. Many of the “Center Summer Folk” decided to
stay in Shirley full time and have added a new intellectualism to the
old
farming area.

In the year 2000, much of Shirley Center still has the look of a
mid-nineteenth
century Town Common. The telephone and power lines have been
placed
underground. The trees and houses invite one to stroll and
visit.
The Meetinghouse and Town Hall sit facing the Common. Although it
has no regular congregation, the Meetinghouse is frequently used for
weddings,
entertainments and ecumenical services. Go to
http://www.shirleymeetinghouse.org/ Although it no longer has
governmental offices, the Town Hall still hosts the Grange, the Scouts,
a dance group, and other activities. Contact CTH Chairman Jodie Rachman
at grovehouse@comcast.net. The cemetery, with its stone
walls and iron enclosures, still sits across the street from the church
and invites the visitor to pause awhile and enjoy the peaceful
surroundings.

For more information about Shirley Center, her people, buildings,
or landscapes, contact the Shirley Historical Society at 978-425-9328
or mail@shirleyhistory.or